Is It Permissible to Join a Social Club That Has Sports, Dining and a Bar?
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
Is it permissible to be a member of a social club that offers halal facilities like sports and dining, but also has a bar and hosts prohibited activities? The membership fee contributes to the club’s overall revenue, including haram sources. Would using the permissible facilities and avoiding the haram ones make membership allowable?
Answer
Thank you for your question. It is permissible to have a membership there and use its facilities, though it remains problematic to be in the presence of alcohol and other sinful activities.
Wine
Qasim bin Abil-Qasim al-Saba‘i narrated from a preacher who was addressing the troops in al-Qastantiniyya, that he heard him narrate that ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said,
“O people, I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) say, ‘Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not sit at a table where alcohol is being passed around; whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not enter a bathhouse unless he is wearing a waist wrapper; and whoever (among women) believes in Allah and the Last Day, let her not enter bathhouses (at all).’” [Ahmad]
Membership
I urge you to value your time and be careful where you set your foot, because any place you enter has a spiritual effect on you. You might find it better to frequent the mosque, parks, nature spots, halal cafes or restaurants, sports facilities, community centers, cultural centers, or people’s homes. Youth centers for Muslims are popping up around the West, even in mosques, and I encourage you to check those out. Also, these social clubs may have an air of arrogance about them, which is not appropriate for Muslims who are obliged to rid their hearts of arrogance.
What I have seen from Muslims around me is that they start with having memberships to social clubs like these and use their facilities until they eventually tire of seeing the alcohol, and other prohibited or useless activities, and eventually drop out. Places like this just don’t feel good.
Contemplate
Ponder this hadith and decide for yourself if these are the places you want to frequent. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said,
“The feet of a servant will not touch the ground until he is asked about his life and how he spent it; his knowledge and how he acted upon it; his wealth and how he acquired it and spent it, and his body and how it was used.” [Tirmidhi]
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt.” [Tirmidhi]
Please see these links as well:
- Is It Permissible to Open a Cyber Lounge?
- Is It Licit to Go to a Snooker Lounge That Doesn’t Have Gambling and Betting?
- Is It Permissible for Us to Eat in a Bar?
- Is It Permissible for Us to Eat in a Bar?
- Eating at Restaurants That Play Music
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied ‘aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
